MARGAO: Farmers in Navelim celebrated a bumper harvest of paddy from fields adjoining Salpem Lake, marking the end of a four-decade-long period of the fields being abandoned.
The initiative to revive the fields, which were left fallow due to years of sewage contamination, was taken by the Navelim Village Development Committee and the Navelim Biodiversity Management Committee, with support from Goa’s ‘Paddyman’ Fr George Quadros of Don Bosco Society, Loutolim, and the Department of Agriculture.
This project represents a first-of-its-kind joint effort involving Navelim farmers, the Department of Agriculture, Don Bosco Loutolim Society, and mechanised farming service providers Goencho Xetkar, aimed at revitalising the fallow fields in Navelim. The project utilised modern technology, including tractors, transplanters, drones, and combine harvesters.
“We spent the whole day in the fields and have harvested a bumper crop of excellent organic grain. We’ve harvested 4.5 tonnes and have only covered one-third of the area,” said a smiling Fr George, adding that the Navelim ryots plan to convert the harvested paddy into healthy organic rice for consumption.
“Usually, farmers do not turn a profit in the first year of harvesting, but this year, they are sure to earn a tidy profit, and more. In another 25 days, we will be ready for the second harvest,” he added.
“Another first of this project was that no farmer had to step into the fields during the execution- nearly every step was mechanised. We carried out harvesting with our brand-new harvester machine. Drones were specifically used as part of a pioneering GIS programme for terrain mapping,” said Stanley Fernandes of Goencho Xetkar.
